No.  66. 

THE  VALUE  OF  THE  SOUL 

V>Y  REV.  ft.  8.  TAYLOR. 


That  all  men  have  sou's,  few  will  deny.  We  feel  that  this 
is  our  superiority  over  the  brute  creation.  We  are  just  as 
conscious  of  something  within  us  which  thinks  and  reasons, 
as  we  are  of  the  body  it  -elf,.  Ail  nations  have  believed  in 
the  existence  of  the  soul,  and  hr;ve  in  the  darkest  regions  of 
paganism,  some  faint,  imperfect  ideas  of  its  immortality.  In- 
deed no  other  truth  is  plainer  than  that  man  has  a  soul.  If 
-we  do  not  know  this,  we  knOvv  nothing  as  we  ought. 

But  while  all  believe  the^fchave  souls,  how  few  act  as 
though  they  realized  their  infinite  value.  How  differently  the 
mass  of  men  feel  on  this  subject  from  the  requirements  of 
revaltion,  nay,  from  .the  dictates  of  reason  ! 

The  value  which  God  attaches  to  the  soul  appears  from  the 
fact  that  He  gave  His  only  begotten  Son  to  save  it.  Would 
he  bear  so  patiently  with  our  ingratitude,  our  hardness  of 
heart,  and  our  rejection  of  Jesus,  it'  He  did  not  see  the  ex- 
cellency of  our  soma  and  earnest Iv  desire  to  snatch  them 
from  eternal  burnings'?  Would  he  -not  leave  us  to  sink  into 
perdition t  Would  lie  ao  pathetically  cry,  "How  shall  I 
give  thee  up.  Ephrain:  ?  how  shall  1  deliver  thee,  Israel?  how 
shall  I  make  tu.ee  ass  Admah  ?  how  shall  I  set  thee  as  Zebo- 
im  ?';  How  earnestly  God  pleads  with  us  to  be  saved.  Has  he 
not  warned  us  by  the  horrors  of  hell,  and  allured  us  by  the 
happiness  of  heaven  2  Has  lie  not  said  He  takes  no  pleasure 
in  our  death?  Has  He  not  brought  every  motive  from  the 
universe,  from  Himself,  to  bear  upon  our  minds,  in  urging  the 
value  of  the  soul? 


And  how  does  Jesus  regard  this  matter  ?  Look  at  Gethse- 
mane  and  Calvary  for  the  answer.  For  what  did  he  bleed  and 
die,  but  to  save  our  gouls  ?  Was  it, not  the  great  burden  of 
all  his  appeals  to  men  while  on  earth,  '"What  shall  it  profit 
a  man,  if  he  shall  gain  the  whole  world  and  lose  his  own 
soul?"  Behold  Him  weeping  over  Jerusalem.  What  caused 
those  tears  but  an  overwhelming  sense  of  the  soul's  value 
and  of  its  danger  ?  So  full  was  Jesus  of  this 'subject,  that  He 
could  think  of  no  other.  It  absorbed  all  his  time,  energy  and 
effort.  So  valuable  was  the  soul  in  his  e.-teem,  so  capable  of 
the  highsst  happiness  in  heaven  or  the  deepest  misery  in 
hell,  that  He  considered  no  sacrifice,  no  labor,  no  suffering, 
no  ignominy,  too  great  to  endure  for  its  salvation.  The  soul  ! 
the  soull  tiiat  was  before  his  mind  when  he  signed  the  cove- 
nant of  redemption,  when  he  threw  asfide  the  regal  glory  of 
the  skies,  when  He' first  entered  upon  His  public  ministry,  in 
every  sermon  and  miracle,  and  forgetful  of  all  else  in  his  dying 
agonies,  he  only  t.n  ought  of  this,  crying  with  joy,  "It  is  fin- 
ished !"  "I  have  achieved  the  work  of  the  soul's  salva- 
tion !"  It  was  to  save  the  soul  that  he  rose  from  the 
grave  and  gave  this  commission  to  his  disciples  through  eve- 
ry age,  "Go  ye  into  all  thdBtarld  and  preach  the  Gospel  to 
every  creature/''  for,  tremendous,  overwhelming  truth — "he 
that  believeth  not  shall  be  damned  !"  It  is  the  soul  which 
imparts  such  earnestness  to  His  intercessions  for  us  before 
Ilia  Father's  throne. 

It  is  the  soul  which  brings  the  Spirit  from  heaven  to  earth. 
To  sanctify  that  soul  from  all  its  pollution,  to  enable  it  tore- 
pent,  believe,  love  and  pray,  to  inspire  it  with  devotion  to  the 
Father  of  lights,  and  to  make  it  tit  for  the  "rest  which  re- 
maineth  for  the  people  of  God,"  He  enters  our  depraved 
hearts,  and  there  takes  up  his  abode.  How  e  rnestly  the 
Spirit  woos  us  to  embrace  the  offers  of  salvation.  How  He 
reproves  us  of  sin,  by  afflictions,  by  expostulations  from  the 
pulpit,  by  a  sense  of  God's  goodness,  by  a.  dread  of  His 
wrath,  by  the  charms  of  Calvary,  by  the  bliss  of  heaven,  by  the 
prayers  of  a  pious  mother,  father,  sister,  wife,  by  the  dying 
appeals  of  christian  iriends,  by  sickness,- and  by  the  stings 


of  conscience  while  in  solitude  away  from  the  giddy  mirth  of  gay 
companions.  Howoften  the  Spirit  has  convicted  us  of  "sin,  of 
righteousness,  and  of  judgment  to  come."  Though  we  have 
so  often  grieved  Him  and  grossly  insulted  this  heavenly 
Friend,  ye*  he  still  continues  to  plead  with  us,  earnestly  be- 
seeching us  not  to  destroy  oar  soul  and  body  in  hell.  Why 
all  this  patience  and  the  earnest  entreaties  so  often  address- 
ed to  us,  if  the  Spirit  felt  not  the  value  of  our  souls,  and  de- 
sired not  our  salvation  ? 

Why  should  the  angels  rejoice  when  but  one  sinner  re- 
pents, if  they  did  not  feel  the  great  interests  at  stake  when 
they  see  the  soul  about  to  choose  between  heaven  and  hell, 
God  and  Satan?  They  are  not  said  to  rejoice  over  any- 
thing else.  The  fall  and  rise  of  empires,  the  inauguration 
and  dethronement  of  princes,  the  discoveries  of  %cience, 
the  inventions  of  art,  the  march  of  refinement  and  learn- 
ing, all  produce  no  effect  on  their  minds.  From  the  po- 
sition they  occupy,  gazing  at  one  time  into  heaven  and  then 
into  hell,  they  see  nothing  comparable  in  interest  to  the  salva- 
tion of  but  one  soul  from  the  bondage  of  sin. 

No  doubt  the  "spirits  of  just  men  made  perfect"  in  glory 
partake  of  the  same  feeling.  We  know  that  Moses  and  Eli- 
jah did  descend  from  their  shining  seats,  and  lay  aside  tor  a 
moment  their  celestial  employments*,  to  converse  with  Christ 
on  the  Mount  of  Transfiguration,  in  reference  to  the  death 
He  should  accomplish  at  Jerusalem  ;  thus  evincing  the  deep 
concern  in  the  work  of  redemption  above  all  other  sub- 
jects; for  they  knew  that  the  salvation  of  the  soul  depen- 
ded on  the  atonement  which  Jesus  should, offer. 

And  could  onr  pious  mothers,  fathers,  pastors,  sisters, 
brothers,  now  in  heaven,  be  permitted  to  hold  converse  with 
us,  would  not  their  whole  engrossing  theme  be  the  salvation 
of  the  soul?  What  little  interest  they  would  feel  in  what  so 
much  engrosses  our  time  and  talents,  How  ardent  their  de- 
sires, how  earnest  their  entreaties  to  have-  us  saved,  What 
lessons  they  would  teach  of  the  value  of  the  soul,  as  seen  in 
the  happiness  of  heaven  and  the  misery  of  hell !" 

Even  if  we  were  permitted  to  converse  with  the  lost  in  per- 


clition,  they  would  be  all  alive  to  the  value  of  the  soul.  How 
they  would  deplore  the  folly  of  our  lives.-  How  they  would 
warn  us  not  to  follow  in  their  footsteps.  -  Did  not  Dives  wish 
some  one  sent  from  the  dead  to  warn  his  five  brethren  not  to 
come  "  to  that  place  of  torment?"  Surely  if  we  could  hear 
their  awful  description  of  the  final  misery  of  the  wicked,  we 
would  at  once  repent  of  these  sins  which  arc  rapidly  leading 
us  to  ruin.  They  would  so  alarm  our  fears  as  to  make  us 
cry,  "  Oh  !  deliver  me  from  the  curse  of  sin.  from  the  power 
of  Satan." 

But  the  devil  knows  the  value  of  the  soul  and  blinds  the 
mind  to  these  solemn  realities.  For  six  thousand  years  he 
has  bent  all  the  energy  of  himself  and  his  angels,  to  effect 
the  ruin  of  the  soul.  Would  he  engage  in  such  fierce  con- 
tests with  £Jirist  in  reference  to  the  soul  ;  would  he  at  every 
defeat  try  some  new  method  of  attack ;  would  he  prolong^the 
warfare  through  such  a  protracted  period;  if  he  did  not 
know  something  of  the  infinite  value  of  the  soul.  On !  sirs  ; 
the  devil  is  so  earnest,  he  pursues  us  so  eagerly,  he  is  so  de- 
termined in  his  efforts  to  ruin  our  souls,  because  he  knows 
what  hell  means,  and  what  it  will  be  for  us  to  suffer  without 
hope  of  relief  the  horrors  of  everlasting  fire. 

This,  in  some  measure,  Christians  feel,  and  hence  they 
plead  so  earnestly  with  us  to  save  our  souls  by  flying  to 
Christ.  It  is  not  that  our  conversion  would  make  them  hap- 
pier in  heaven,  for  Christ  will  overflow  their  soul's  with  fi joy 
unspeakable  and  full  of  glory."  But  it  is  because  they  know 
the  evil  of  sin,  the  shame,  the  woe,  the  despair,  the  eternal 
agony  which  only  the  conversion  of  the  soul  can  avert.  We 
often  think  hardly  of  the  people  of  God  for  annoying  us  so 
much  in  a  course  of  sinful  pleasure  by  their  entreaties  and 
warnings.  We  may  even  regard  them  as  our  enemies.  But 
is  it  not  because  the}'  see  our  danger  and  wish  to  prevent  our 
ruin.  And  who  so  much  our  friend  as  he  who  seeks  to  save 
us  from  the  fires  of  hell? 

If  you,  reader,  were  but  enlightened  by  the  Spirit  to 
see  your  danger,  how  earnestly  you  would  cry,  "  What 
must   I  do  to  be  saved  ?"     Why  did  Paul  fall  to 'the   earth, 


and  imploringly  ask,  "  Lord,  what  will  thou  have  me  'to 
do  $*'  Why  did  the  hardened  jailor  and  unfeeling  thief  so 
earnestly  implore  mercy  ?  God  threw  but  a  ray  of  light 
from  eternity  into  their  minds,  and  just  one  glimpse  of  the 
soul  happy  in  heaven  or  writhing  in  hell,  produced  that 
change.  So  it  would  be  with  you  if  you  could  feel,  as  they 
felt,  the  value  of  your  soul. 

Now,  why  is  it  that  in  heaven,  earth  and  hell  this  deep 
concern  should  be  felt  for  your  salvation,  and  you  alone,  the 
one  personally  interested,  be  indifferent  and  careless?  Is 
not  the  testimony  of  three  worlds, — of  the  Father,  Son  and 
Holy  Ghost, — of  angels  and  glorified  spirits — of  devils  and 
the  lost — of  Christians  and  the  awakened  sinner — enough  to 
show  you  the  value  of  the  soul  ?  Was  ever  truth  established 
by  such  testimony?  And  oh!  will  you  still  neglect  this 
great  concern  ? 

Your  soul  was  made  in  the  image  of  God.  No  where  else 
is  that  image  impressed,  but  upon  the  soul.  This  allies  you 
to  angels  and  to  God  himself.  When  the  body  moulders  in 
the  grave,  the  soul  is  the  precious  jew*d  which  can  never  de- 
cay, which  was  made  immorta1,  to  shine  in  the  diadem  of 
Christ  forever.  Why  then  teel  so  much  interested  in  the  body 
and  neglect  the  soul  ?  Why  feed  the  one,  and  let  the  other 
famish  for  the  bread  of  life  ?  Why  clothe  the  one,  and  suf- 
fer the  other  to  stand  in  naked  deformity  before  the  assem- 
bled universe  at  the  bar  of  God,  when  the  spotless  robe  of 
Christ's  righteousness  is  so  freely  offered  to  cover  all  its  shame? 
Why  beautify  the  one,  and  deform  the  other?  If  the  one 
must  fall  into  the  grave,  the  other  must  fall  into  hell 
unless  you  fly  to  the  refuge  of  the  cross.  The  pains  endured 
by  the  body  in  the  throes  of  death  are  not  comparable  to  the 
agonies  of  the  soul  in  the  fierceness  of  eternal  fire.  Oh,  for 
which  should  yoxx  feel,  for  which  will  you  feel,  most  pro- 
foundly ? 

And  now,  dear  reader,  what  will  you  do  with  this  priceless 
jewel  ?  Will  you  continue  to  abuse  its  powers  and  debase  its 
grandeur?  Will  you  fill  it  with  pollution  ?  Shall  its  wonder- 
ful faculties  be  devoted  to  sinful  purposesjintil  in  the   world 


6 

of  despair,  they  shall  all  combine  to  torment  you  forever;  the 
memory  recalling  the  bitter  returnless  past,  as  in  the  case  of 
Dives;  the  conscience  filling  the  soul  with  remorse  ;  the  im- 
agination looking  back  to  hopes  once  within  your  reach,  but 
now  withdrawn  forever :  and  the  heart  having  nothing  to 
love  and  hatinc?  itself  for  its  foolish,  guilty  rejection  of  God  ? 
What  will  it  then  profit  you  that  you  have  run  the  whole 
round  of  pleasure  ?  You  have  pursued  pleasures  and  they 
fled  before  you.  When  you  reached  forth  yo  lr  hand  to  seize 
them  they  vanished  into  air.  Even  the  pleasures  you  gained 
yielded  bitter  disappointment.  They  were  altogether  unsatis- 
factory. God  has  determined  that  nothing  shall  satisfy  the 
cravings  of  the  soul  but  communion  with  its  Maker.  In 
mercy  he  has  so  created  your  soul  that  nothing  but  His  smiles 
can  fill  its  Caching  void  "  You  have  tried  learning,  riches, 
ambition,  friendship,  love,  morality,  a  course  of  sinful  pleasure; 
but  in  aUtke?e  you  found  nothing  but  "  vanity  and  vexation 
of  spirit."  Afflictions  disturb  your  sweetest  enjoyments. — 
The  hand  of  death  snatches  awav  your  fondest  friends.  Etch- 
es make  to  themselves  wings  and  fly  away.  Life  itself  draws 
to  a  close,  and  dreadful  eternity  is  opening  to  receive  you. — 
While  you  are  saying  "  Soul,-  thou  hast  much  goods  laid  up 
for  many  years,  take  thine  ease,  eat,  drink  and  be  merry," 
suddenly  you  are  alarmed  by  a  voice  from  your  neglected  God, 
"  this  night  thy  soul  is  reqirii  ed  of  thee  ;"  and  then,  what  shud- 
dering to  think  of  going  all  -unprepared  to  the  judgmentl — 
What  will  now  avail  your  worldly  honors,  pleasures,  riches? 
How  foolishly  you  have  a^ted  to  sell  your  soul  for  naught. 
You  now.  know  that  your  dmm  is  sealed  to  all  eternity.  You 
would  gladly  give  property,  friendship,  learning,  reputation, 
aye,  life  itself,  to  save  your  soul,  but  alas!  alas!  it  is  forever 
too  late. 

My  dear  friend,  you  are  in  momentary  danger  of  losing 
this  soul  of  such  priceless  value.  You  are  pursuing  eager- 
ly the  path  which  -lei  "others  to  hell,  and  how  are  you  to  es- 
cape their  fate  while  following  their  footsteps  ?  You  have  not 
yet  been  saved  by  God's  method  of  salvation,  and  He  will 
use  no  other,     Your  disease  has  not  been   removed  by  the 


remedy  of  the  Gospel,  and  God  will  apply  none  but  this 
Nothing  but  God's  sovereign  mercy,  which  may  any  rn/>ment 
change  to  wrath,  keeps  you  from  sliding  into  hell.  No  prom- 
ise rattle  Bible  affords  you  any  ground  of  hope,  as  long*  as 
you  remain  as  you  are,  Your  heart  is  becoming  harder  ;  and 
yet  you  must  'eel  in  order  to  be  saved.  Your  evil  habits  are 
daily  becoming  stronger;  and  yet,  they  must  be  subdued  be- 
fore you  can  reach  heaven.  The  devil  is  sowing  new  errors 
in  yonr  mind  every  day;  and  they  all  assist  to  keep  out  the 
light  of  the  Spirit  which  is  indispensable  to  your  conversion. 
Great  is  your  danger.  We  are  commanded  to  warn  you  if 
we  see  the  sword  approaching.  We  solemnly  tell  you  that  we 
see  its  steady,  swift  approach,  and  urge  yo<u  to  fly  to  the  cross 
for  sarfety.  Oh  !  save  yonr  soul  before  it  is  too  late,  and  you 
are  lost ! 


S.  M. 


0,  cease  my  wandering  soul. 
On  restless  wing  to  roam  ; 

All  this  wide  world,  to  either  pole, 
Has  not  for  thee  a  h-ome. 


Behold  the  ark  of  God  : 
Behold  the  open  door  ; 

O,  haste  to  gain  that  dear  abode, 
And  rove,  my  soul,  no  more. 


There  safe  shalt  thou  abide, 
There  sweet  shall  be  thy  rest, 

And  every  longing  satisfied, 
With  full  salvation  blessed. 


8 

THE    SOUL, 

C.  M, 


1  What  is  the  thing  of  greatest  price, 

The  whole  creation  round  ? 
That  which  was  lost  in  Paradise, 
That  which  in  Christ  is  found  : 

2  The  soul  of  man — Jehovah's  breath— 

That  keeps  two  worlds  In  strife  ; 
Hell  moves  beneath  to  work  its  death, 
Heaven  stoops  to  give  it  life. 

3  God,  to  redeem  it,  did  not  spare 

His  well-beloved  Son  ■      ^ 
Jesus,  to  save 'it,  deign'd  to  bear 
The  sins  of  all — in  one. 

\  And  is  this  treasure  borne  below, 
In  earthen  vessels  frail  ? 
Can  none  its  utmost  value  know. 
Till  flesh  and  spirit  fail  ? 

5  Then  let  us  gather  round  the  cro  .-. 
That  knowledge  to  obtain  ; 
Not  by  the  soul's  eternal  loss, 
But  everlasting  u-in. 


